Heavy rain that trapped cars on flooded roads and led one driver to hydroplane into a DeKalb County stream have since dried in metro Atlanta, leaving behind only drizzle and lingering flooding Wednesday, Channel 2 Action News meteorologists said.
“The showers and storms from this morning continue to move away,” Meteorologist Brad Nitz said.
Expect breaks in the clouds Wednesday evening and clearing skies overnight and into Thursday morning.
“And then we’re going to have a gusty northwest wind tomorrow and a mostly sunny sky,” Nitz said.
Temperatures were 59 degrees in Atlanta, 58 degrees in Blairsville and 60 degrees in Griffin just after 1 p.m.
Temps will fall to the 50s Wednesday evening and keep falling throughout the week. They’re expected to drop to the upper 20s Saturday, Nitz said.
But after the overnight clearing, there isn’t any more rain in the five-day forecast, meteorologists said.
EARLIER INCIDENTS
Metropolitan Parkway at Perkerson Road was so heavily flooded, cars couldn’t move on the southwest Atlanta roadway Wednesday morning.
Mike Forest, who was trapped in his 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix, said he took the Metropolitan route to dodge traffic and ended up ankle-deep in water.
He said sewage problems in the area are not uncommon and that he hopes the City of Atlanta will finally prioritize them as well as repairs to his now inoperable car.
“I feel like I shouldn’t have to pay for it,” Forest said.
The incident on Metropolitan was hardly the only incident of flooding or elevated water levels reported Wednesday.
A motorist lost control of her vehicle, which left the roadway and ended up in Fowler Branch creek near the intersection of Snapfinger Circle and Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County, authorities said. The creek was swollen by early morning rains.
The victim was able to grab hold of a branch in the water that kept her from drowning until firefighters rescued her about 200 to 400 yards from where her car flipped over, DeKalb fire Capt. Eric Jackson said.
Police just happened to be in the area responding to another call when officers noticed traffic was backed up and asked motorists what was causing the delay. DeKalb firefighters soon learned of the woman stuck in the swift moving waters and were able to rescue her, Jackson said.
She was in good condition, alert and conscious at the time of her rescue, Jackson said.
» For updated traffic information, listen to News 95.5 and AM 750 WSB and follow @ajcwsbtraffic on Twitter.
WEATHER UPDATE
Meteorologists said up to 1 foot of moving water flooded Northside Drive, after heavy rain and gusty winds moved into metro Atlanta early.
Heavy rain and strong wind also knocked down trees and caused outages in the metro.
Georgia Power reported more than 80 active outages, impacting more than 4,00 customers at one point Wednesday morning. That has since dropped to impact less than 2,000 customers.
Nitz said several areas are still experiencing flooding, with advisories in effect.
A flood watch is in effect through late Wednesday in portions of north and all of central Georgia.
A flash flood watch is in effect through Thursday morning for much of metro Atlanta southward. And a flood warning was still in effect just after 1 p.m. for Big Creek near Alpharetta, impacting Forsyth and Fulton counties.
Marietta police warned commuters to avoid South Marietta Parkway at the I-75 northbound ramp and Washington Avenue at Cole Street, where roads are closed due to downed trees.
South Cherokee Lane, which connects Highway 92 and Jamerson Road, was closed at least two hours due to down power lines, the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Clayton County police said in a Twitter post that flooding caused Upper Riverdale Road to close also at Garden Walk Boulevard, in front of Southern Regional Medical Center.
— Staff photographer Kent Johnson contributed to this article.
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